Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada on October 23, 1931, John Frosk was
a trumpet player and jazz musician who
began his career in the late 1940s playing
local venues such as the Dominion Theatre
and the Rancho Don Carlos.
In 1956, he performed live in Bangkok with
Benny Goodman. The following year,
he played with Jimmy Dorsey, His Orchestra
& Chorus on the album The Fabulous
Jimmy Dorsey, alongside fellow
trumpeters Art Tancredi, Bill Spano, and
Lee Castle. He also worked with Tito
Puente on albums such as 1957’s Night
Beat and 1958’s Top Percussion.
In 1958, he was on the road and in the
studio with Benny Goodman again and these
recordings have been preserved on Benny
in Brussels and Happy Session.
Frosk performed with Dizzy Gillespie for
his Carnegie Hall Concert and his
1960 album Gillespiana, alongside
trumpeters Ernie Royal, Clark Terry, and
Joe Wilder, followed by another engagement
with Benny Goodman in Moscow 1962.
Also in 1962, John appeared on Oscar
Peterson’s album With Respect to Nat,
the Oliver Nelson-Irene Reid collaboration
Room for One More, and The In
Instrumentals by Kai Winding.
In 1966, John recorded Profiles with
Gary McFarland and the following year, was
featured on the Pee Wee Russell album, The
Spirit of ’67. In 1968, he
appeared on Snowfall: The Tony Bennett
Christmas Album.
John Frosk - alongside trumpeters Freddie
Hubbard, Lloyd Michaels, Dick Williams,
Marvin Stamm, and Snooky Young - played on
Quincy Jones' Walking in Space.
It became the 1969 Grammy award winner for
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance.
The turn of the decade found him recording
Something with Tony Bennett, White
Rabbit with George Benson, Time
to Fly with David Pomeranz, Deodato
on Prelude and Skyscrapers
(released as Os Catedraticos 73 in
Brazil). In 1974, Frosk recorded Symbiosis
with Bill Evans and Claus Ogerman, and
re-united with George Benson on Bad
Benson.
In 1975, Frosk played on Grover Washington
Jr.'s studio album Feels So Good,
alongside Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, and
Bob Millikan. The album topped both
the soul and jazz albums charts and peaked
at number ten on the pop album charts in
the U.S. John appeared on the Enoch
Light & The LIght Brigade
1977 release of Gonna Fly
Now, the theme from the movie, Rocky
and is the audio recording at the top of
this page.
During the 1980s, John Frosk worked on The
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
alongside Doc Severinsen.
From July 1975 through to April 1990, he
was a replacement trumpeter on Marvin
Hamlisch and Edward Kleban's long-running
Broadway musical, A Chorus Line.
In 1991-1993, he also played trumpet for The
Will Rogers Follies (book by Peter
Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph
Green, and music by Cy Coleman). In
December 1993, he played for the musical The
Red Shoes (book by Marsha Norman,
lyrics by Bob Merrill (credited as Paul
Stryker) and music by Jule Styne).
Late 1996, he was a part of the mammoth
Broadway revival of Bob Fosse and Fred
Ebb's hit musical, Chicago.
Bands in which Frosk played:
The Glenn Miller Band
The Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey
Band
Benny Goodman And His
Orchestra
Dizzy Gillespie And His
Orchestra
Jimmy Dorsey, His
Orchestra & Chorus
Oscar Peterson Trio &
Orchestra
Lalo Schifrin &
Orchestra
New Pulse Jazz Band
Oliver Nelson And His
Orchestra
Peanuts Hucko And His
Orchestra
Richard Maltby And His
Orchestra
Sal Salvador And His
Orchestra
Warren Covington
Richard Malby
The Three Deuces Musicians
The Brass Menagerie
The Corporation
Other influential musicians with whom
Frosk has performed, recorded, or
collaborated over the years include:
Frank Valli (My Eyes
Adored You)
Al Martino (singer)
Paul McCartney (singer,
songwriter, musician)
Lenny Kravitz (singer,
songwriter)
Tony Bennett (singer)
Lena Horne (singer,
actress)
Stevie Wonder (singer,
songwriter, musician)
Gloria Gaynor (singer)
Jimmy McGriff (organist)
Eddie Drennon (songwriter)
Bette Midler (Thighs
and Whispers)
Frank Sinatra (New
York, New York and the boxed
set, Trilogy)
Barbara Cook (All I Ask
of You)
Manny Albam (composer,
record producer)
Nancy LaMott (Listen to
My Heart)
Garrison Keillor (author,
singer)
Frederica von Stade
(singer)
Tom Lehrer (singer,
songwriter)
Quincy Jones (producer)
Ray Charles (singer,
songwriter, pianist)
Bob James (keyboard
player)
Van McCoy (producer)
Latter
day CD releases featuring John include The
Essential George Benson Collection, The
Soul Jazz Grooves of Quincy Jones: Summer
in the City, and Broadway’s Greatest
Gifts, Volume 7: Carols for a Cure.
Manitoba Schools Orchestra 1946
L-R, Back Row: Johnny Frosk, Jerry
Szach, Ted
Perich
L-R: Front Row: Bill Greshko,
Wally Sukaylo, Tommy Macri
Photo courtesy of David
M. Perich
John
Frosk passed away December 10, 2023 at the
age of 92 in Old Tappan, New Jersey, USA.
How do you capture the lifetime of such a
prolific artist? John's family
posted a video shortly after his passing
which
features an hour's worth of his most
recognizable performances set to still
photographs. It can be viewed HERE.
